Angels Who decided that an angel has to wear white, and have a halo and silver wings Can’t they be clad in brown or plaid or navy blue And be full of piss and vinegar too Just like you and me Who decided that angels had to fly - I bet some trip and skin their knees I’m sure there are some clumsy ones out there Not every one receives an equal share Of elegance and grace (Ch) I prefer me an angel with a big ol’ bag of tools One who’s a little rough around the edges Some feathers missing from her wings tells me she’s not afraid of things here on the ground I prefer me an angel with some dirt under her nails One who feels at home here in the trenches Those smudges on her cheeks says she won’t shy from the dirty work Of saving me Some angels make the starting nine - some languish on the bench Some never even make the team And have to be content to dream Of being in the game Are these hapless ones any less a blessing to us down here on the field Where we’re running ‘round like fools Trying to learn the rules Worrying about those things we’ll leave behind (Ch) I prefer me an angel who’s traveled the long road Where lumps and bumps are all part of the bargain Some feathers missing from her wings tells me she’s not afraid of things here on the ground I prefer me an angel with some red clay on her boots Who won’t be run off by a little misadventure Those smudges on her cheeks says she won’t shy from the dirty work Of saving me (B) You should never travel any faster than your angel can fly Make no unexpected turns at least until your angel learns What it takes to stay right by your side I’d like to find an angel who shares a little common ground Mine keep quitting me I’ve gone through two or three And I’m not sure there’s many more left around (Ch) I’d prefer me an angel with a big ol’ bag of tools One who’s a little rough around the edges Some feathers missing from her wings tells me she’s not afraid of things here on the ground I’d prefer me an angel with some dirt under her nails One who feels at home here in the trenches The smudges on her cheeks says she won’t shy from the dirty work Of saving me

Life Is Hard Mona Lisa was just hanging out Wonderin’ what the fuss was all about She said “Don’t even try to guess what I think I’m tired of being framed and I wish I could blink Life is hard and life ain’t fair I could tell you what I’ve seen but you wouldn’t even care All you people ever do is stand around and stare Yeah life is hard” Venus de Milo was standing around with a friend He was hinting at seduction, she was having none of it She told him “I appreciate your intent But if you’d look past my chest you would see I just can’t Life is hard and life ain’t fair I would grab more opportunities, maybe throw caution to the air But I can’t hold on to nothin’ - I can’t even comb my hair Yeah life is hard” B: When you’re feeling kinda lowly and you don’t know what to do All this mean old world seems to deal you is the blues The dealer keeps sending you an unplayable hand You can’t fold, you can’t call, and you can’t understand Why life ain’t fair and life is hard, but Now is not the time to let down your guard ‘Cause the deck is full of Jokers and you got to draw a card Yeah life is hard David on his pedestal, cold as a stone Wishing he had a little something to put on He said “Praises of my form are universally sung But I wish ol’ Mike had rendered me more generously hung Life is hard and life ain’t fair Stuck here for the ages and all the world to bear Witness to my manhood - In Homeric Proportion, true, but I care! Yeah, life is hard I’d really rather be on a beach somewhere With a little Italian sculptress wearing flowers in her hair And a teeny little bikini that’s just barely there I’d settle for just ten minutes in a chair Yeah life is hard”

Other Side Of The World I been all around, friends I seen lots of things Good, bad and indifferent - folks are all the same If you think about it We all got our mortal coil You and me and all them other fools On the other side of the world I have seen the sunset From a mountain top I’ve watched the dawn break over my coffee cup Just about every day Close as I can tell Sun comes up and goes down on the Other side of the world as well (B)Now I’m not the sharpest guy Everybody tells me so I ain’t certain about a lot of stuff But here’s some thing I know: We all come a-squallin’ to this life of earthly toil You and me and them other fools On the other side of the world Most folks like to laugh Some folks like to cry Some folks won’t let themselves feel nothing inside Some folks will steal Other folks will lie And not everyone believes In the same Sweet By and By Some folks will help you Some will take a pass Some folks will go out of their way to suggest you kiss their... As far as I can figure We’re all just boys and girls And boys and girls are just the same On the other side of the world (B)Mamas hold their babies close And sing softly in their ears Lovers tell each other lies And all the things they want to hear We believe in different fairy tales But we come from the same soil You and me and all them other fools On the other side of the world We all come kickin’ and screamin’ to this life of earthly toil You and me and them other fools On the other side of the world You and me are them other fools To the other side of the world © 2019 Eric Ramsey, Not Quite Norman Music (ASCAP)

I Cannot Write A Love Song Satan caught me at the river When the surge was running high He said I could walk on water We watched the world go washing by He said pity not the wretched refuse On their backs you will survive Gave to me a watch of silver With no numbers there inscribed (Ch) We stood above the rising raging This to me he did confide I can make most any man Do my bidding But I cannot write a love song He said long ago I loved so fiercely That current stripped me to the bone Nothing left but mud and ruin And sins that I could not atone As the walls commenced to crumble So the levee spilled its seed Rendered naked there against the deluge Accursed now for oath and deed (Ch) I cannot find the proper words Or a sympathetic melody Everything suggests a dirge When I try I find that I Cannot write a love song (B) Oh you will know when it is time Life navigates the profane and sublime Satan caught me at the river With the torrent near to crest He said I could walk on water Trust in him to do the rest © 2019 Eric Ramsey, Not Quite Norman Music, ASCAP

Do’s And Don’ts Life is full of Do’s and Don’ts It’s up to you if you will or won’t Life is full of Dos and Don’ts It’s up to you if you will or won’t Life is full of highs and lows You watch your luck as it comes and goes Life is full of highs and lows Oh you watch your luck, you watch it come you watch it go Life is full of ups and downs Sometimes the jester wears the crown Life is full of ups and downs Sometimes you’re the jester, but sometimes you get to wear that crown Life is full of Dos and Don’ts It’s up to you if you will or won’t Life is full of Dos and Don’ts It’s up to you if you will... It’s up to you if you will or... I said it’s up to you if you will ... or won’t With your Do’s and Don’ts You either will or you won’t

An old lady once told me ‘Bout a Lake Erie waterspout All the water ran away from the beach She swore she could walk to Canada So far away and so out of reach Even she can’t trust her memory The lake is there for all to see But it was gone, gone, gone I once stood out in a cornfield Late at night all alone Looking up at the sky Suddenly the stars fell down All at once, they rushed to earth I stared for a long, long time Never saw it in the news Like it never happened Then it was gone, gone, gone There was a girl who said she’d marry me She was more than I could ever hope for But I was more than she could carry My heart was an exploding star Then the universe went dark Forever is so temporary I never saw that girl again Like it never happened She was gone, gone, gone Bridge/Chorus All these wonders that seem so mysterious That we can’t believe our eyes Though they’re standing right in front of us They still take us by surprise Then they’re gone, gone, gone Gone gone gone © 2021 Michael R.J. Roth and Eric Ramsey

Everybody’s Got To Go Back Home You can play with fire or play the fool Toe the line or break the rules Just remember - everybody’s got to go back home So gather your tinder and strike your spark You can light your candle or you can curse the dark Just remember - everybody’s got to go back home Home might be a mansion It might be a tent Home might be the shelter if you can’t make your rent You might be holding out for someplace in the sky Whatever it takes to help you get by You do what you must do - you do what you will But we all got a hole that we’re destined to fill And remember - everybody’s got to go back home Your mansion might crumble You might fold up your tent You might sleep in a doorway if your money’s all spent You might be living in the back seat of somebody’s car Home might just be wherever you are Dancing with dragons or singing with saints You are what you are and you ain’t what you ain’t Just remember - everybody’s got to go back home Don’t matter what kind of shape you’re in You know it’s gonna get you but you don’t know when Just remember - everybody’s got to go back home

The Veil Of Summer What of this veil of summer fair Beautiful bronze boys and girls Emanating heat and more In the softly sultry air What of this veil of summer now Carnal nights and lingering days Do we know any other season So manifest, so frail somehow What of this veil of summer true Deepest blues and verdant greens Giving way to the scarlet and gold of autumn Then winter’s grip devoid of hue What of this veil of summer then Fleeting as a falling star Furtive as a lover’s glance We pray to live to see again What of this veil of summer gone For time does pass with little care And no regard for man nor woman Nor the final breath we take alone What of this veil of summer fair

Time And Water I need a double shot of whiskey to jump start my day A bottle of burgundy about half way Through my morning Which is shaping up to be Quite like yesterday’s and What tomorrow will bring we shall see Probably more of the same Life’s double-aught buckshot done tore a hole Clean through the roof of the place where my soul Used to live Now it’s rain and pain and angry Pouring in and Tomorrow will bring More of the same Black wind is blowing the fever is growing while we’re digging our holes Wheels are rolling the bells are tolling no hope for our weary souls I need a double shot of time and water on the rocks And anything else that will slow down these clocks And their incessant tocking and ticking And maybe keep me from kicking A hole in the sky again tonight Give me that double shot of whiskey to jump start my day And that bottle of burgundy certainly will help me see my way Through my morning Which is shaping up to be Quite like yesterday’s and yesterday’s and yesterday’s and yesterday’s And yesterday’s and yesterday’s and yesterday’s and yesterday’s And yesterday’s and yesterday’s and yesterday’s and yesterday’s And yesterday’s

So Much Promise There’s a battered picture in my room The portrait of a young Marine Faded now to shades of gray - so much promise Oh I know his buttons are polished I can just imagine how they shone like gold Buttons polished, how they must have shone Battered pictures, tattered letters Yesterdays flung to the wind Long ago - now a wooden box holds vestiges of what had been and So much promise A battered picture I keep as a bookmark The little boy with a catcher’s mask is Looking out on the field - so much promise His future bright That next half inning gonna shine like gold Future bright, how he’s gonna shine Broken bats, shattered windows Baseballs flung into the weeds Long ago in seasons past - dreams to words, dreams to deeds and So much promise (Bridge) Shooting stars don’t always hit the ground, oh but when they do They leave a smoking crater and the heavy celestial residue of So much promise These battered songs I know by heart I dig them up when I’m feeling low Turns of phrase, mirrors and smoke and so much promise Memories once exhumed Cut like razors or they shine like gold Memories cut like razors, or shine like gold Broken records, missing words Melodies sung to the wind Long ago on yellowed pages scribbled loose-leaf wisdom offered So much promise

Nothing Compares To You Sapphires or diamonds or silver or gold Childrens’ choirs or puppies to hold Church bells or sleigh bells or Christmas Eve snow Nothing compares to you My favorite old jeans just out of the dryer Falling asleep in front of the fire Crisp autumn apples straight from the tree Nothing compares to you Now a world without hunger or heartache or fear Just might compare to you my dear But I must be honest - nothing comes near No, nothing compares to you 9th inning game winning home runs My old dog fast asleep in the sun Rain on a tin roof or a Hill Country spring Nothing compares to you Nothing compares to you Nothing compares to you